Tag: snow

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

He’s the God of cold, too

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Annie Nyle on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 147.

When I think of God’s creation, especially the Garden of Eden, I imagine of a sunny day, with spring-like temperatures, and a gentle breeze. After all, the first man and woman were naked, so it would have been a nice, warm, comfortable place.

It turns out that the Creator is the God of cold, too.

He gives snow like wool;
    he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
    who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them;
    he makes his wind blow and the waters flow. (Psalm 147:16-18)

I love these unlikely pairings. Snow covers the ground like a warm blanket. Frost blows through the air like ashes from a fire, settling on tree limbs and rooftops. Ice crystals resemble cookie crumbs falling after a bite. God’s word, which created the wintry weather also melts it. He thaws out a frozen world.

At times, God is a consuming fire. When his people disobey, his anger burns. God sends down fire to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and to consume Elijah’s sacrifice on Mt. Carmel. God leads his people through the wilderness as a pillar of fire. Spirit comes down on the apostles like tongues of fire on Pentecost. When John sees Jesus in Revelation, “His eyes were like a flame of fire” (Rev. 1:14). In heaven, God is surrounded by seraphim, fiery creatures who never stop repeating, “Holy, holy, holy!”

I think it’s cool that he’s the God of cold, too!

Posted in Life, memories, Travel

A blizzard, a phone call, and Florida

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/trees-and-cars-covered-by-snow-512229/

Subfreezing temperatures. Flurries in the forecast. Pretty normal February day in Iowa. White piles along the road reminded me of last week’s snow. The gray sky, leafless trees, and bite in the air testified that spring was still far away.

The car heater had barely warmed up when I pulled into the parking lot. After a quick walk inside, I piled my coat, scarf, hat, and gloves on a side chair and turned on my computer. My car, just a few feet away on the other side of my office window, didn’t seem to mind the cold at all.

Not long before lunchtime, the wind blew the first flakes of snow past my window. As I watched, more and more snow fell, and the winter world’s grays and browns succumbed to a coating of white. The wind picked up as the sky suddenly dumped all of it’s snow at once. I couldn’t even see my car as today’s “flurries” matured into a full on blizzard.

My desk phone rang. It was probably my wife, making sure I was okay. I wasn’t planning on driving anywhere anytime soon. But it wasn’t her. It was someone calling me from Florida. They just wanted to ask if I was open to considering a job change and relocating.

To Florida? The Sunshine State? I said, “Sure,” but in my mind I was thinking, “How about I come down today?” Lol. The interview was in April, and we moved there in June.

That was twenty-eight years ago. And you know, I just don’t miss the gray skies, leafless trees, bite in the air, and driving home in a blizzard.